Sign facing assembly

ABSTRACT

A sign facing assembly having a plurality of panels of extruded plastic material wherein each panel is releasably attached to an adjacent panel by an interposed elongated T-shaped member and slidably fitted C-shaped locking member which contacts each of said adjacent panels and said T-shaped member.

United States Patent [191 Alfonso 1 June 3, 1975 SIGN FACING ASSEMBLY[76] Inventor: Louis Alfonso, 207 Churchill St.,

Pittsfield, Mass. 01201 [22] Filed: Dec. 28, 1973 [21] Appl. No.:429,101

2,948,976 8/1960 Miller 40/125 K 3,417,529 12/1968 Archinal et a1.52/468 3,449,848 6/1969 Howell 40/125 R 3,546,826 12/1970 Chapman...52/80 X 3,574,449 4/1971 Rosenberg 40/125 F X 3,634,960 3/1970 DonCarlos 40/125 K Primary ExaminerRobert W. Michell AssistantExaminer.lohn F. Pitrelli Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Chapin, Neal andDempsey [57] ABSTRACT A sign facing assembly having a plurality ofpanels of extruded plastic material wherein eachpanel is releasablyattached to an adjacent panel by an interposed elongated T-shaped memberand slidably fitted C- shaped locking member which contacts each of saidadjacent panels and said T-shaped member.

6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures sgaaaevs SHEET FATENTEBJUHS I975 1 SIGNFACING ASSEMBLY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates to sign facings or marquees. In particular, the presentinvention relates to a sign facing assembly which may be easilyassembled or disassembled as a whole or in part.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is toprovide a sign facing assembly that may be easily assembled and/ordisassembled either as a whole or in part.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sign facingassembly having parts that may be easily produced by plastic extrusiontechnology.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a sign facingassembly having means thereon for holding characters or other indicia.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a sign facingassembly which may be produced in any reasonable dimensions.

' BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top front perspectiveview of the sign facing of the present invention having sections brokenaway;

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a panel of said sign facing shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the following description, likenumerals with prime notations indicate like parts.

Referring primarily to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the sign facing ofthe present invention, indicated at 10, is basically comprised of threemajor parts facing panels 12, 12', etc., T-shaped ribs 14 and C-shapedinterlocking members 16. As additionally shown in- FIG. 1, a charactertrack 18 may also be provided for supporting characters 20 or otherindicia if desired.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the facing panels 12, 12, etc., are elongatedmembers having each of the sides 22 and 24 respectively curledrearwardly in a plane perpendicular to the front 26 of the panel 12.Additionally, the extreme outer edges 28 and 30 of the panel 12 aredirected inwardly of the sides 22 and 24 so as to face each other in aplane parallel to the front 26 of the panel 12.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3, it will be noted that each panel 12,12', etc., of the sign facing 10 is separated from-its adjoining panelby the presence of interposed T-shaped ribs 14. The ribs 14 areelongated T- shaped members which are disposed between panels 12 and 12'adjacent the sides 24 and 22 thereof, respectively. The main flange 32of the T-shaped members extends forwardly of the panel faces 12 and 12',while the cross member 34, which forms the top of the T, is positionedperpendicular to the main flange 32 rearwardly of the panels 12 and 12'in such a manner that the undersurfaces of the cross member 34 aredisposed adjacent to the inwardly turned edges 30 and 28' of the panels12-and 12, respectively. As best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, the main flange32 of the ribs 14 is provided with a series of grooves or notches 36,which are basically L-shaped, disposed at varying intervals throughoutthe length of said ribs 14. These notches 36 extend from the front edgeof the flange 32 to a point approximately equal to the plane in whichthe front of panels 12 and 12' lie.

As is also clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the sign facing assembly isbasically completed by the presence of the C-shaped interlocking members16. As shown, these members are also elongated members which aredisposed in contact with the ribs 14 and the panels 12 and 12.Specifically, the innermost surface of the C- shaped interlockingmembers 16 18 in contact with the rearward surface of the cross member34 of the rib 14, while the turned-in ends of the interlocking members16 are in contact with the underside of the edges 30 and 28' of panels12 and 12. In this manner, the panels 12, 12, etc., of the sign facing10 are joined together to form a single unit.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the character track 18, which is optionallyprovided, is essentially in the configuration of a Z. The lower end 38of the track 18 is designed for slidable engagement with the notches 36so as to position the track across the width of the sign assembly. Whensaid track 18 is so positioned, the outer end 40 thereof extendsupwardly in a plane approximately parallel to the facing 26 of eachpanel 12, 12, etc., a predetermined distance x therefrom, therebyforming a pocket. Characters 20 or other indicia may be then placed inthe pocket formed by the track 18 and supported against the facing 26-of the sign assembly 10, as shown in FIG. 1, or they may be suspendedfrom the track 18 by clips or the like (not shown) affixed to the rearsurface of the characters 20.

As should be clear to those skilled in the art, the sign facing of thepresent invention may be easily and quickly assembled and disassembledeither as a whole or in part. In assembling the sign facing, two panels(or more) 12 and 12' are positioned adjacent T-shaped rib 14 in themanner shown in FIG. 3. Once the panels and the rib are so positioned,the C-shaped interlocking member 16 is slid into clamping contact withthe panel edges 24 and 22 and the rib 14. With the panels, ribs andinterlocking member in place, the track 18 may be added to the structureif desired by simply inserting the same through the notches 36 formed inthe ribs 14.

In that it should be clear that disassembly of the sign facing is aseasily accomplished as the assembly, it should also be clear that due tothe simplicity of assembly and disassembly a major advantage is obtainedin that should one or more of the panels be destroyed or made otherwiseundesirable, said panel or panels may be easily replaced without thenecessity of disassembling the complete sign.

The sign facing assembly of the present invention is ideally suited formanufacture by the use of plastic extrusion technology. Specifically,each major part thereof may be produced by either plastic sheetextrusion or profile extrusion technology. While the drawings disclose apanel width of not too large an overall dimension, such width may beeasily enlarged by the use of larger sheet extrusion dies. However,those skilled in the art will recognize that extremely large panelwidths should be strengthened at appropriate intervals by the additionof extruded integral reinforcing v ribs.

While any sheet extrudable plastic material may be used in themanufacture of the parts of the sign facing of the present invention, itis preferable that transparent or translucent thermoplastic materialssuch as the acrylics and the polycarbonate plastics be employed.

That which is claimed is:

1. A sign facing assembly comprising a plurality of panels, said panelshaving each side thereof directed rearwardly is a plane substantiallyperpendicular to the front of said panel and having its extreme edgesdirected inwardly of each side so as to face each other, a T-shaped ribinterposed between and abutting the sides of adjacent panels, saidT-shaped rib having its main flange extending forwardly toward the frontof said panels, a C-shaped interlocking member disposed in contact withthe cross member of said T-shaped rib and the edges of said adjacentpanels to thereby hold said adjacent panels together as a single unitand means for supporting characters or other indicia including a trackdisposed across the width of said sign facing asribs.

2. The sign facing assembly of claim 1 wherein said edges of said panelsare disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the front of saidpanels.

3. The sign facing assembly of claim 1 wherein said means for supportingcharacters or other indicia also includes a plurality of notchesprovided in the main flanges of said ribs and disposed at varyingintervals throughout the length of each of said ribs, said track beingdisposed in said notches across the width of said sign facing assembly.

4. The sign facing assembly of claim 1 wherein said panels are producedfrom an at least translucent thermoplastic material.

5. The sign facing assembly of claim 4 wherein said thermoplasticmaterial is a polycarbonate plastic.

6. The sign facing assembly of claim 4 wherein said thermoplasticmaterial is an acrylic plastic.

1. A sign facing assembly comprising a plurality of panels, said panelshaving each side thereof directed rearwardly is a plane substantiallyperpendicular to the front of said panel aNd having its extreme edgesdirected inwardly of each side so as to face each other, a T-shaped ribinterposed between and abutting the sides of adjacent panels, saidT-shaped rib having its main flange extending forwardly toward the frontof said panels, a Cshaped interlocking member disposed in contact withthe cross member of said T-shaped rib and the edges of said adjacentpanels to thereby hold said adjacent panels together as a single unitand means for supporting characters or other indicia including a trackdisposed across the width of said sign facing assembly affixed to themain flanges of said T-shaped ribs.
 1. A sign facing assembly comprisinga plurality of panels, said panels having each side thereof directedrearwardly is a plane substantially perpendicular to the front of saidpanel aNd having its extreme edges directed inwardly of each side so asto face each other, a T-shaped rib interposed between and abutting thesides of adjacent panels, said T-shaped rib having its main flangeextending forwardly toward the front of said panels, a C-shapedinterlocking member disposed in contact with the cross member of saidT-shaped rib and the edges of said adjacent panels to thereby hold saidadjacent panels together as a single unit and means for supportingcharacters or other indicia including a track disposed across the widthof said sign facing assembly affixed to the main flanges of saidT-shaped ribs.
 2. The sign facing assembly of claim 1 wherein said edgesof said panels are disposed in a plane substantially parallel to thefront of said panels.
 3. The sign facing assembly of claim 1 whereinsaid means for supporting characters or other indicia also includes aplurality of notches provided in the main flanges of said ribs anddisposed at varying intervals throughout the length of each of saidribs, said track being disposed in said notches across the width of saidsign facing assembly.
 4. The sign facing assembly of claim 1 whereinsaid panels are produced from an at least translucent thermoplasticmaterial.
 5. The sign facing assembly of claim 4 wherein saidthermoplastic material is a polycarbonate plastic.